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Election Facts About The Mayors Of Troy - 1816-1997 Mike Esposito Historian James Arthur Weise, in his impressive work, Troy's One Hundred Years: 1789-1889, tells us that "the act of incorporation for the City of Troy of April 12, 1816, provided that the Mayors were appointed by the Governor and the Council of Appointments of the State until 1822. From 1822 to 1840 the Mayors were elected annually by the Common Council. Under the Act of February 13, 1840 the Mayors were elected by the people for one year terms. Under the Act of May 3, 1870 they were elected once in two years." It wasn't until March 1939 that the Common Council provided for a four year term for the office. Anthony P. Finder's Troy Times article of September 1, 1917 entitled "Troy's Mayors" provides a brief summary of political history of the mayors, who they have been from the beginning, their terms of office, their pluralities, and other offices they held. Some of the following facts about the early mayors of Troy are from both Finder's article and the Weise history. Albert Pawling was the first mayor of Troy, appointed April 14, 1816. Esaias Warren, was the first mayor elected by the Common Council; Jonas C. Heartt, the first popularly elected mayor. Frank J. Hogan-D was the first mayor to serve a four year term. The November 1939 mayoralty election between Hogan and John J. Ahern was undoubtedly the most controversial, with charges that a voting machine in the second district of the eighth ward was "defective" or "plugged". The district in question was bounded by Washington Street, Havermans Avenue, and First, Adams and Hill Streets. The machine recorded between 301 and 334 votes for five Republican candidates running with Ahern but only 11 votes for Ahern. Almost daily, articles in the Times Record from November 1939 through March 1940 described the events following the election: collection of affidavits from over 300 registered voters in the district who voted for Ahern, support for an investigation of the election by a State Commison, call for a special election by Supreme Court Justice Pierce H. Russell, special sessions in the Appellate Division and the Court of Appeals, legislation introduced in the Assembly and Senate and finally the veto by Governor Herbert H. Lehman of a bill that would provide for a recasting of votes in the second district. Earlier Justice Russell vacated the restraint order on the Board of Canvassers and the path was clear for the issuance of a certificate of election to Mayor Hogan. Hogan's citywide plurality was 297 votes. Had there been a recasting of votes in the second district some believe that Ahern would have won the election, but by less then 50 votes. Many Troy residents still refer to the time when Troy was "a city with two mayors and no city hall". City hall had been destroyed by fire a year earlier, in October 1938. The largest plurality ever recorded in a Troy mayoralty race was in November 1947 when John J. Ahern-R running for re-election following his first term (1944-1947) defeated Joseph N. Delaney-D by 10,421 votes. Less then three years later Edward A. Fitzgerald-R, then President of the City Council, was appointed in October 1950 to fill out the remainder of Mayor Ahern's term following the popular mayor's death. Fitzgerald was elected mayor one year later and, at 34, became the youngest mayor in the city's history. Cornelius Burns-D holds the record for length of terms. The popular "Connie" Burns served from 1912-1920 and 1928-1936, a total of 16 years. The shortest term in office, two and one half months, was served by Elias Plum, mayor from December 20, 1853 to March 6, 1854. In November 1959 Trojans approved a new city charter which would become effective on January 1, 1964. Proposition Two, the council-manager from of government, placed the administrative responsibility of the city in the hands of a professional manager and policy issues in the hands of the city council. The mayor would no longer be elected a general election. The Proposition received a plurality of 3,121 votes. Thirty five years later, in the November 1994 election, Trojans voted 5,385 to 5,059 against Proposition Two which would have continued the council-manager form of government. In the same election, Proposition One, limiting the city council to four consecutive two year terms and the mayor to two consecutive four year terms was approved 7,908 to 2,100. Two of the closest mayoralty elections in the city's history occurred within a year of the two major changes in form of government. Neil Kelleher-R defeated John J. Purcell-D in November 1959 by a plurality of 185 votes. Thirty six years later, in the November 1995 election, Troy returned to the "strong mayor" form of government when Mark Pattison-D narrowly defeated Kathy Jimino-R by 119 votes. Robert Stierer took office as our first city manager on January 1, 1964. Thirty one years later, Kathy Jimino became the eleventh and last person to hold the office. During the council-manager form of government the mayor was selected by the city council from among its members. Lawrence Meyer-R was the first of twelve mayors during this period; Eugene Eaton-R was the last. The TROY COLLECTION, Troy city documents, and Troy newspapers on microfilm are invaluable resources available at the Troy Public Library and are used in preparing this and other articles about the history of Troy. Next month's issue will contain an article of highlights in the history of the Troy City Council. In cooperation with Troy United Ink Corp., a not-for-profit corporation 
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